Cleve Gorman (Earth-616)
, Vietnamese drug lords | Relatives = | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Camp Pendleton, formerly Parris Island, South Carolina; "Big Nothing", Vietnam | Gender = Male | Height = | Weight = | Eyes = | Hair = Blond | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = American | MaritalStatus = Single | Occupation = Marine Gunnery Sergeant; Drug lord; | Education = Unknown | Origin = Human | PlaceOfBirth = United States of America | Creators = Mike Zeck; Steven Grant | First = Punisher: Return to Big Nothing #1 | Death = Punisher: Return to Big Nothing #1 | HistoryText = Gunnery Sergeant Cleve Gorman, USMC, first met Frank Castle when Castle was sent to his first duty station of Parris Island, South Carolina in order to begin recruit training, whereupon GySgt Gorman was assigned to be his drill instructor. As is natural among senior enlisted and junior enlisted, the relationship between Castle and Gorman was hostile, and exacerbated by the fact Gorman's military background as a combat veteran granted him a natural supremacy over all other men, as opposed to Castle's relatively humble beliefs as a devout Christian. Following his graduation from recruit training Private First Class Castle, USMC would be reunited with Gorman when both were deployed to Vietnam. Gorman was assigned to a makeshift command center nicknamed "Big Nothing", which was intended to help acclimate junior enlisted and other "first timers" to a combat zone. A somewhat more cocky Castle made himself a target for trouble when he shot his mouth off about how it was impossible for North Vietnamese militiamen to stand a chance against the might of the US military, to which Gorman ordered Castle to do push-ups. While performing the exercises, Gorman resorted to physically beating Frank Castle and deriding him as a "nothing", or "big nothing", after the command center's nickname. Although deeply enraged by this unprofessional, sadistic and brutal conduct, Castle kept it bottled in because he figured as rough as it was, GySgt. Gorman's job was to toughen Marines for war, even in his unorthodox manner. Another factor which probably ensured Castle's silence was a desire not to make any more trouble for himself, and the USMC chain of command likely was backing Gorman's brutality. Only after Frank Castle was presumed dead and began his career as the Punisher would he realize Gorman's sinfulness extended in a way not even he could imagine. Gorman had been conspiring with Vietnamese drug lords to smuggled heroin, or "China White" into the States inside the cadavers of deceased military personnel. Gorman had also learned of the death of Castle's wife and children, as when he was confronted by the Punisher did he wonder how come Frank Castle is coming for him. Gorman is disoriented, believing that he is being punished for his sins by confronting Castle from beyond the grave; namely that a sergeant takes care of his men, not brutalizes them and leads them to death, or that God is punishing him for the disgusting sin of smuggling illegal drugs insides the corpses of Marines he killed. However, later in the story Gorman comes to the more logical conclusion that Frank Castle survived the brutal murder and regains some of his natural bravado that guided him in the war. This ultimately proves his undoing, as his ham-handed ways get him killed by Frank Castle in the end. | Powers = | Abilities = Criminal mind, military training, Drug smuggling, arranging drug shipments, hand-to-hand combat, USMC drill instructor, combat experience | Strength = Extreme physical strength due to intensive regular exercise | Weaknesses = Underestimating extent of his opponents, overestimation of his own skills | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = Rocket launcher, M16A2 rifle | Notes = | Trivia = *He is mistakingly drawn with two stars on his collar. As a USMC gunnery sergeant, Gorman would have worn three chevrons and two arcs with crossed rifles underneath the chevrons. Two stars is the collar attire of a major general. *Was ranked as #7 on the Punisher's "Top 10 List of Enemies", arguably due to Castle's pre-Punisher career experience. Bruno Costa, Skinner and Kolsky, the murderers of the Castle family, rank as #1. | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }}